Konecranes reports strong results

Konecranes has reported an excellent Q2 with performance strong in all business segments. Order intake remained healthy, and sales grew year-on-year, profitability improved year-on-year, and the company posted an all-time high quarterly comparable EBITA margin of 14.3%.

CEO Anders Svensson  said,”The demand environment remained healthy in Q2, although our order intake declined 11.6% year-on-year on a comparable currency basis. The orderbook was nearly €3 billion  at the end of June, 12.8% lower than a year ago on a comparable currency basis.

“Delivery capability continued to be good. Group sales exceeded €1 billion and were 13.% higher versus a year ago on a comparable currency basis. Sales grew in all three Business Segments.

“Our comparable EBITA margin improved year-on-year and was 14.3%, mainly driven by pricing and higher volumes, as well as good strategy execution. Profitability improved in all three Business Segments.

“Service had yet another strong quarter. Order intake increased 8.5% year-on-year in comparable currencies. Sales increased 8.8% year-on-year in comparable currencies. The comparable EBITA margin improved year-on-year to an all-time high of 22.1%, mainly driven by pricing and higher volumes. The agreement base value continued to grow and in comparable currencies was 5.9% higher at the end of Q2 versus a year ago. We have also continued to expand our field service network through bolt-on acquisitions and acquired Dungs Kran- und Anlagentechnik Gmbh in the Lower Rhine region in Germany in the beginning of July.

“Industrial Equipment’s external orders decreased 10.9% year-on-year in comparable currencies but remained close to the previous’ quarter’s level. External sales increased by 6.8% year-on-year in comparable currencies. Driven by volume growth and good strategy execution, the comparable EBITA margin increased year-on-year to an all-time high of 9.8%. The comparable EBITA margin was also positively impacted by approximately €4 million  of favourable resolution of project related claims.

“In Port Solutions, order intake totalled €308 million , decreasing 26.9% year-on-year in comparable currencies against a strong comparison period. Port Solutions had a good delivery quarter, and sales grew 25.0% year-on-year in comparable currencies. The comparable EBITA margin was an all-time high, 10.5%, and the improvement was mainly driven by pricing, volume growth and mix. Port Solutions ended the quarter with an orderbook value of over €1.6 billion.

“Regarding the market outlook, we expect the demand environment within our industrial customers to remain healthy. Although customer decision-making is taking somewhat longer for larger industrial projects, our sales funnels continue at a high level, and we keep receiving new sales cases. As for our port customers, container throughput continues to be on a high level, and long-term prospects related to container handling remain good. Our Port Solutions sales pipeline includes a good mix of projects of all sizes. Quarterly order intake fluctuation is normal for the business, as the booking of orders depends on the timing of customer decision-making.

“Overall, Q2 was one of Konecranes’ strongest quarters ever. Our performance improvement demonstrates that we are doing the right things as a company, and moving what really matters. On a rolling twelve-month basis, we are now within our profitability target range on the Group level and in Service. Next, our aim is to do that across all our three Business Segments on a continuous basis.